Yuma - Tale of a hunting ninja
by himbeertoni
Summary: When a bored young man right out of university is thrown in the Naruto universe with nothing left except the strong desire to become a shinobi of Konoha, he sets out into the world to find his own Nindo. And along the way make friends with our Number One Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja. Slight AU, OC/Self-insert, Smart!OC, Fuinjutsu!OC, Archery!OC
1. A surprising beginning

**A/N: Hey guys and girls! Thank you for being interested in this story!**

**It's my first attempt at writing so any criticism to better myself is highly appreciated. There might be some similarities to other stories on this site, but considering the amount of stories in the Naruto genre and how many of them I have read so far, it's not really surprising ;)**

**I have a few chapters already written so far with aprox. 6000 words each. I might accept your suggestions or ideas that I like, but please note that this is MY story. So, if you want to see your own ideas to come true, I highly recommend writing your own story. It is actually easier than you might think, once you get started!**

**So without further ado, please enjoy!**

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_Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my own OCs._

* * *

I woke up with a heavy sigh._ 'Just like any other day, I will get up, do my morning routines in the bathroom and get dressed, and finally I'll go downstairs to eat breakfast all by myself again.' _My family, which means my parents, my little sister and I, moved to this quiet little town in the middle of nowhere almost four years ago and I had to say it became boring pretty fast.

My sister attended a boarding school in the capital and my parents travel a lot for their work, which left me alone at home with too much free time. I finished university earlier this year and now I'm trying to find a job somewhere around here in order to live rent free some more before I finally move out and get away from this godforsaken no man's land. Although I really enjoyed this quiet life, there are quite some downsides to it. We had to drive almost ten kilometres to the next supermarket and the little grocery store in town didn't have all the stuff needed for us. And most importantly the internet connection really sucked out here...

During my time as a student my roommates convinced me to try out some of the new online games and I had to admit that they had me hooked in no time. Almost every time I didn't have to study for exams, I was online and playing with people all around the world. And since I was unemployed at the moment, I had way too much free time and nothing to all day which left me right here at our kitchen table, eating cereals and reading the newspaper, looking at the job advertisements._ 'Seriously, who looks for a job in the newspaper nowadays?'_

After I had finished breakfast, not finding an interesting job offer, I went to the living room and started my gaming console. Now that I couldn't really play games online without serious connection issues, I went back to my trustworthy console and played some RPGs almost the entire day. Exceptions were only made when I had to go grocery shopping, or I had a job interview and had to leave the house. I had no real friends here since I just moved back in after my time at the university was finished. Before that I just visited during the holidays and once or twice a year for a weekend when the whole family got together for birthdays and such._ 'Now that I think about it, I was always quite the loner. I preferred the company of my online friends more than that of real people.' _Which left me at the situation at hand.

Recently I rediscovered my love for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, so that was what I was playing most of the time. I was just about to enter some ancient north ruins to slaughter some Draugr at get myself self a nice treasure when our doorbell rang. _'That's unusual'. _I thought._ 'Who visits this time of the day? Pretty much everyone here knows that my parents aren't home this week.'_

I paused the game and went to open the door. I was greeted with the slightly bored look of the mailman. "Package for Mr. Alex Davis", he said. "Well, that's me", I replied. "Sign here please... and here." Done and done and he turned and left me with the small bundle. I closed the door and went back to the living room. The package was from my sister, I realised. _'I wonder what she would send me. My birthday was three months ago, so that can't be it. Only one way to find out...'_

The package revealed some comic books and a card from my sister._ 'Well, that's unexpected. I was never really much into reading except the books I needed for my studies. And my sister knows that...' _At this point I had to say that I got along with my little sister quite well, so she wouldn't do this to annoy me. I opened the card and read my sister's message:

_Dear Alex,_

_I know your probably bored out of your mind these days with no well-functioning internet connection so I got you something to read and watch for a change. Seriously, you can't play these console games all the time! One of these days you might think your entire life is a video game, silly! _

_These are a collection of some of my favourite manga and anime and I hope you'll enjoy them. You can have them until I return home for the summer break, since I already read or watched them and know them like the back of my hand. Let me know if you need more, I have quite the collection in my room here. _

_Hope to hear from you soon, big bro!_

_Love Anna_

Sigh..._ 'She just managed to be caring and insulting in the same letter again. But I might as well give it a try. It's not that I have anything better to do...' _I took the first book and skipped through the pages. Something about a guy getting almost killed by a ridiculous monster with a mask, getting stabbed with a sword by some midget and therefore gets a huge sword for himself which he uses to slay the beast... meh, not really my thing. In my games I always go for a sneaky character, with some magic skills to the side. The next one showed a bald, not so impressive guy in a yellow jumpsuit with a red cape._ 'Heh, caped baldy...'._ I thought to myself. Apparently, he went bald due to his ridiculously hard training (as if that was even a thing) and is now bored because he is so strong that he kills every enemy with a single punch and nobody is a real challenge for him. On top of that he has no real social skill and struggles with everyday life._ 'Might be funny. A superhero with the same problems as me. I wonder if she added this one on purpose. Maybe I read this one first, if there is nothing else interesting in my sister's stash.' _Among others, there was another one about a pirate with a straw hat, one about a competitive cooking school, and an anime about a normal person which suddenly gets a dragon as a maid. _'Seriously, wtf are people imagining out of boredom?!'_

Underneath all those was a manga about a blonde kid with bright blue eyes in a orange jumpsuit who wants to be some awesome super ninja, called a 'Hokage'. On top of that, they can use something like magic, but their source isn't Mana like in most games, they call it chakra. _'A magic wielding ninja story. Since played a sneaky mage not more than an hour ago in Skyrim, I might just give this one a try. Not that I have anything better to do anyway...' _So, I took the book, put the rest back in the box, and made myself comfortable in the living room couch. I became enthralled pretty quickly. The boy was called Naruto, an orphan, and obviously everybody in his village hated or ostracised him for some unknown reason. He was pulling pranks left and right for some attention but except his academy instructor, the chief ninja of the village which he called gramps and some loving father-daughter couple of a ramen restaurant nobody really liked or recognised him. _'They are kind of raising child soldiers in this academy of theirs'_ I deadpanned._ 'I have to admit the ramen waitress, Ayame, is somewhat cute, though. I hope they get together later, even if she is a little older than him. This Sakura girl he crushes on seems like a bitch to me...'_ Well, what can I say, I am a sucker for sobbing love stories. And I have a weakness for everything adorable and cute. Except chihuahuas and pugs, they are just glorified rats to me or just plain ugly. I will never understand why they are so popular among some people.

I went through the few books my sister sent me pretty quickly._ 'Damn, now I have to ask for more. And it will take a while before her next package arrives, with me sending her a return letter first.' _Well, it can't be helped. I got myself some pen and paper an wrote my reply:

_Hey little sis,_

_thanks for the reading material! You are right by the way that I don't have anything interesting to do around here and I really appreciate your help to counter the boredom. I really enjoyed this Naruto manga you sent me, and I humbly ask for more. (Actually, I can't wait to get my hands on the next chapters.)_

_Hope to get your next package soon!_

_Your big bro_

_Love Alex_

With the letter done, I went to the town's post office (thank god, we are not totally isolated from the rest of the world!) and sent it to my sister in the capital. The next few days were as usual, and I returned to my video games as long as I had to wait for Anna's response. When her, this time slightly larger, package arrived I was almost giddy to open it and start reading. The suspense was almost killing me these past few days. Her card with it simply read 'Enjoy' with a big smiley face. This was our routine for the next weeks. Before I ran out of books, I would send her a letter, asking for more, and when I finished the last episode the next books would arrive the next day or the day after that. Life was all good and well until this one faithful day, when my life would change forever...

'_The Mail man should ring the bell any moment now'._ I thought impatiently._ 'Man, I'm almost through the entire series already. I wonder what happens after their fight against Madara. Naruto sure got a long way from the orange jumpsuit wearing knucklehead. Although, now that I think about it, the author must really have a thing for Sasuke. Or for Doujutsu in general. Some things you can do just by having a fancy pair of eyeballs seems just unfair and overpowered. Thank god Naruto could do some cheating by himself with those shadow clones of his, otherwise he would have never caught up with the others. He sure as hell will be Hokage after this. If not, I might make a trip to Japan and beat some sense into Kishimoto. Naruto even got himself a girlfriend after his fight against Pain, or Nagato, although I still think that Ayame would have been a great match for him. Seriously, with his love for ramen it would have been perfect. Hinata is nice enough, though. At least it's not Sakura, even if she got better after some time...' _The sound of the doorbell interrupted my musing and I eagerly made my way to the door. I really couldn't wait any longer for the last chapters.

"Good morni-". My greeting was interrupted with cold pain in my chest. I looked down only to see blood pouring out of a deep stab wound in my chest. My formerly plain yellow shirt went red pretty quickly and I felt myself stumbling to the floor. The last thing I recognised were two men in dark clothing entering the house over may dying body and the words: "Hurry up and grab everything valuable. We don't want to be here any longer than necessary." After that everything went black.

* * *

I woke up with a splitting headache. "Oah..." I groaned. "What happened and where am I?" I remembered getting stabbed...and dying. "Shit. Is this the afterlife?" I looked around and realised that I was lying in a hammock made of plant fibres. A few metres away was a small fire place with some neatly stacked berries and herbs as well as a small pond with crystal clear water. The whole clearing was surrounded by giant trees. "How did I get here?"

I got out of the hammock and sat down at the fire place. I recognised the berries as edible and the herbs as some sort of medical plant. I wasn't sure what exactly they were since I specialised in human anatomy in my biology studies at the university, but I was able to categorise them correctly. I also realised something else. I was small. Too small. My hands and feet were a dead giveaway, but I still wondered what had happened to me. I got up again and went to the small pond. The person that looked back at me was unfamiliar. When I touched my cheek and the person did the same, my eyes widened in shock and I fell back on my butt. "What the hell happened on me?" The reflection that had stared back at me seemed to belong to a six-year-old child with fair skin, silver hair and dark chocolate brown eyes without pupils. The hair was styled in a low ponytail with two small bangs framing the face. "Is that really me? How am I even able to see without pupils?" My clothes also didn't resemble anything I had ever seen in my wardrobe. I wore a long-sleeved mesh undershirt and a light green t-shirt over it. My pants were dark blue and loose fitting with bandages wrapped around my shins and ankles. Lastly, I noticed a pair of blue shinobi sandals on my feet._ 'Shinobi sandals?'_

I took a few deep breaths. "Okay, calm down, Yuma." _'Wait, Yuma?! But my name is... I can't remember my name!' _I panicked. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't remember my name or the name of any person in general. The rest was all there, my master's degree in biology, my love for video games and even the recently discovered love for manga and anime. But no names. The only thing that came up was that my name was Yuma, I was six years old and wanted to be a Konoha shinobi. "Wait, Konoha? But that's Naruto's home." Okay, I had the weirdest suspicion now. "I was reborn in the world of Naruto... oh my god..." I fainted.

* * *

When I woke up again, I was still in the forest clearing. _"Okay, so it wasn't a dream." _I mused. You can't wake up from a dream within a dream, that only worked in movies. Kind of ironic that I was reborn in a fictional world then. "Hmm, I have seen enough of these survival shows on TV that I now better find some sort of civilisation. Or I could use this small clearing as a base for a few days and get familiar with my surroundings. But what if there are wild animals in this forest? Also, since I want to be a Konoha shinobi for some reason I'm probably in the Land of Fire."_ 'Thank god I still had my knowledge about the Naruto universe!' _I knew that the forests of Hi no kuni were known for their tall trees and size in general. It might take a few days to reach the end of it if I was somewhere in the middle of one. I knew now somewhat where I was, but I didn't know about the when. "I hope I can meet Naruto somehow, maybe even in his childhood. He really needed a friend back then." With this thought I made up my mind. It was time to head out and find my way to the Village hidden in the Leaves. I gathered the few berries and herbs, took a few gulps of water from the pond and made my way out of the clearing.

I had been probably walking for three to four hours when I heard a high-pitched whining noise from somewhere in front of me. I wasn't really sure what to do since I didn't know what lived in Hi no kuni's vast forests, but it sounded like a small animal in pain. If it was aggressive or went crazy in pain, I should be able to deal with it, I reassured myself, it seemed to be wounded after all. I wasn't a coward in my previous life, I was just somewhat antisocial and bad with people. So, I made my way in the direction of the noise. When I was close enough, I crouched down and peeked through the bushes. What I saw nearly took my breath away. It was the most beautiful creature I ever laid my eyes upon.

It was a tiny and fluffy little fox with the purest white fur I had ever seen. It had a black marking on its fur which kind of resembled a lightning bolt right between its ears. The tips of its ears and tail were also black. The only problem in this perfect picture was the bear trap around one of its hind legs. It seemed like a sacrilege to me to stain such a beautiful animals' fur with the red of its blood. So, I carefully made my way out of the bushes in order not to scare it and make the injury worse. There was no way that I leave the little buddy trapped like this only for greedy hunters to get to it first. _'Wait, hunters? Hunters mean that there is probably a village or town somewhere near here. I might have to look for more signs of traps around the area after I set this cute little fox free... oh man, I am still weak to all things cute and adorable.' _I sighed. This world was also famous for its puppy dog eyes no jutsu if I remember correctly. I could just hope people will never find out. But I had a more important issue at hand right now.

The little animal spotted me almost immediately and went silent. Its eyes followed every move I made, so I held up my hands in the well-known gesture 'I mean you no harm'. "Okay little girl", I said. "Just hold still for a moment and big bro Yuma will get you out of this in no time." I had no idea if the fox really was a girl but it seemed to work and she somewhat calmed down. I made my way to the trap and pried it open with my hands. When I thought about it later, I didn't know if I had enough strength to open the trap or if it was just dumb luck, but it worked and that's what counts. Seriously, what six-year-old could open a bear trap with his bare hands?

The little fox got it's leg out of the trap and tried to hide in the bushes immediately, but it stumbled after the first few steps and fell to the ground. I let the trap close slowly, not to scare the fox away and walked over to the downed animal. She (I was pretty sure now that the adorable little fox was a 'she', even without biological proof) breathed heavily and I could see that she was still in a lot of pain. I took the medical herbs out of my pocket and mashed them to a paste with my hands and spit. Since I had no water at hand, spit would have to do for now. I went on my knees next to the tiny creature and gently smeared the paste on the wound.

I made use of the little first aid knowledge I had and instead of just smearing the green paste on the wound I took some of the bandages from my shins and wrapped them around the animal's leg so that the herbs won't just fall off after the first few movements.

I was quite happy with the result, since I had never done this before. The little girl yipped at me and tried to stand again. Moving still seemed somewhat painful so I just did what anybody else in my situation would do. I picked her up. She tried to wiggle out of my grip at first but calmed down after a few attempts without success. _'I guess it's true what they say about foxes and their smartness. She probably understands that I don't mean her any harm and just want to help. I wonder if I can keep her like the Inuzukas do with their dogs?' _Now that I held her in my arms I realised something I completely overlooked when I treated her. Her fur was so soft. She is without a doubt the fluffiest thing I ever touched, almost like cotton candy. I now held her like a newborn baby, and she looked at me with curiosity. Her eyes were just as black as the few markings of her fur. No irises, no pupils, just black. Probably creepy for most people but I certainly wasn't most people.

"...so cute."

Silence.

"That's a first."

* * *

It turned out that I didn't just save any fox with unique white fur, but the messenger fox of the fox summoning clan. She introduced herself as Kameyo which kind of was ironic. If I remember correctly the name's meaning had something to do with turtles or tortoises, considering my Japanese lessons from my previous life. But I kept my thoughts to myself, I didn't want to antagonise her and she was just so damn cute. I put her down carefully an sat on the ground in front of her.

"So, Kameyo, what were you doing out here in the woods? And how did you get trapped in the first place? Actually, now that I think about it, I have never heard about there being a fox summoning clan in the first place..." I asked curiously.

"It is no wonder you never heard of our clan. We never had a summoner because our boss doesn't really like you humans in general. As a consequence, we never fought in one of your meaningless wars and kept to ourselves", she replied. Her voice sounded somewhat bored but kind of melodic at the same time. It really clashed with her role as the messenger type which I expected to be rushed and impatient, but it fitted her name. She continued with her sing song explanation: "As for why I'm here, it is none of your business." I sweat dropped.

"Okay, but how did you get trapped?" I pressed on. I couldn't imagine how a fox summon, which I considered smart and cunning, could fall for something as simple as a bear trap. It wasn't even hidden that well in the first place...

"I was distracted for a moment." I stared at her, waiting for an explanation. "And I would have freed myself in no time anyway. I just didn't want to reveal my true nature when I sensed you approaching" She finished haughtily and raised her head as to proof her point that I was beneath her. That I was more than three times her side, even in a sitting position, made it just that much more adorable.

My thoughts must have shown on my face as she looked at me again and scoffed. She got on all fours, looked me dead in the eyes and starting from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail she slowly turned herself into an avatar of lightning. I was stunned. _'She looks like a fox shaped chidori, crackling lightning everywhere! But instead of the chirping noises of one thousand birds, it's more like a deep humming sound, kind of like a light sabre from Star Wars'._ The bandages around her leg had disintegrated into nothingness once she finished her transformation and the hairs on my body reacted to the massive electric currency in front of me. She also radiated a massive heat.

"Okay, but how would you have gotten out of the trap like this?" I started sweating now, the heat became quite uncomfortable.

As if to proof her point, she turned to a nearby tree and walked through it. Just like that. She only left behind black scorch marks and glowing ember where she entered and exited the tree. Next, she startled me by disappearing and reappearing right in front of me. I fell on my back and when I got up again, she was already returned to her former fluffy self, sitting on her hind legs and staring at me with emotionless black eyes. "Like this", she replied smugly and waved her tail behind her. _'This must be the foxes' equivalent to a girl throwing her hair over her shoulder.' _I deadpanned.

I realised that there was no wound on her leg anymore, just unblemished white fur. _'I wonder if that's because of my treatment or because she heals herself when she turns into a lightning bolt. I can see how that would be an impressive ability to have. Offensive because of the damage you can deal with a mere touch, healing previous injuries instantly and defensive because you are intangible. Wait a second. Metal is conductive. That bear trap was made of metal. Can you really hold your true form when your entirely made of electricity and touch a metal object? I don't think so...'_

It was my turn to look at her smugly now. "You can't do this little trick of yours when your touching a metal object." I accused. Her reaction wasn't what I expected.

Kameyo deflated like a poked air ballon and hid her face under her paws. "It's true." She admitted in a defeated tone. "I would have had to wait for the hunters to return to open the trap and they would have likely tried to kill me at first sight. Foxes aren't well regarded in Hi no kuni for some reason and I would have been sent back to our summoning realm upon my 'death'. I can't afford this, not with everybody counting on me."

"There, there...", I petted her head and tried to console her. _'Foxes are probably unwanted around here because of the Kyuubi attack. If Naruto is hated for simply being its container, I can clearly see people being stupid enough to think of all foxes as some kind of bad omen even if they are just animals.'_ I thought. "Why is everybody of the fox clan counting on you anyway?"

She got back up and looked at me again. Kameyo didn't move away from my petting hand so I started scratching her behind the ears. Considering her wiggling tail, it looked like she enjoyed it. "I can't tell you. It's a mission I was sent out to accomplish." She answered carefully after some time. "I was sent out by the others to find someone, that's as much as I am allowed to tell you. I'm the fastest among us and can cover large areas in a short time, so we all pooled our energy together and sent me here. Without our bo- I mean a summoner that's the only way one of us can enter this realm. I am grateful for your help, I truly am, but we of the fox clan don't trust easily. It is one of the reasons we never had a summoner." She finished somewhat sadly.

I accepted her explanation with a nod. It was not my place to pry but I couldn't help myself asking another question. "So how long have you been on that mission of yours now?"

"It has been a little more than four years now." Kameyo sighed. I could only imagine how frustrating it must be to look for someone for such a long time. "I have been all over the Elemental Nations now and the Land of Fire is the last place I have to search in now. It's more difficult than the rest of the countries because foxes are hunted down here, and I can't go looking into the bigger towns and villages. Most people would try to attack me immediately and I don't want to turn into my lightning form around them. I was told not to draw unwanted attention."

During her explanation Kameyo crawled into my lap and made herself comfortable there. I was still scratching her behind the ears, and we sat together in silence for a while._ 'Maybe I should offer my help.' _I mused, looking at the clouds through the treetops. _'She must feel pretty lonely all by herself.'_

I remembered being quite the loner in my previous life and see where it got me. Thrown in an unknown world where people can kill each other with a few hand signs. _'She probably misses her clan, too, considering that she enjoys my scratching this much. Or interaction with others in general.' _After a few more minutes I had formulated a plan in my head. It was worth a try and maybe she would consider accepting my help.

"Hey, Kameyo." She looked at me curiously and I stopped petting her. "You want some berries?" I swear I could see stars shining in her eyes and her tail wiggled in anticipation. I reached into my pockets for the berries I found in my clearing earlier this day. When my hand came back up, I held the little red berries in front of her face. She sniffed them and after a few licks (which accidentally also tickled my palm and I had to suppress my not so manly giggles) she ate them. She chewed carefully, tasting them, and finally swallowed. "Delicious", she sing-songed. I pulled out some more and after giving her most of them, I tried one myself. They really were delicious. Just the right amount of sweetness and the taste was a mix of strawberry and red currant. I wasn't really hungry or thirsty, I just wanted to know what they would taste like. _'I might as well just keep some treats on my person at all times. It could sway some people's opinion about me when given at the right moment.'_

I looked at her and tried to find the right words. She didn't make it any easier for me as she tried to lick up all the delicious red sweetness around her mouth. "I can help you." I stated bluntly after some time.

Kameyo got out of my lap and sat in front of me again. She tilted her head to the side and looked at me with a calculating gaze. "Why would you want to help me? And how could you help me in the first place?" She asked sceptically. "Actually, now that I think about it, what were you doing out here in the forest? I can't remember seeing a single human child out in the woods all by himself during my travels."

I started sweating under her gaze. "I can go into the towns and villages which you have to avoid." I explained. "I would need a description of the person you are looking for, though. As for me being here, it is the only thing I ever remember. I was always living in this forest." That was technically correct, if you didn't count my earlier life in an entirely different universe. This half-truth had to do for now.

Her gaze softened a bit. "So, you were abandoned by your own kind for some reason and left to die in this wilderness. The cruelty of humans never fails to amaze me." I guessed she had seen quite a lot of human interaction during her mission. And not always the best kind of interaction, considering her last statement. "Very well. I accept your offer. It would be foolish of me to deny such an opportunity. You are in fact the first human I interacted with since the start of my search and you have shown me nothing but kindness in this short amount of time. Reach out with your left hand, palm up."

I did as I was told and Kameyo placed her paw in my hand. From her paw outwards an intricate seal spread around my hand and I could feel it reaching my shoulder and the left part of my chest. It stopped right above my heart. I became slightly worried since fūinjutsu was quite the abstruse and dangerous art and she didn't tell me what she had planned for me. Foxes were known to be cunning after all.

What seemed like hours to me probably only lasted a few seconds. The seal concentrated itself back in my palm and when she removed her paw, only her black paw print remained. "This is a temporary tracking and summoning seal, among other things. I do not have the authority to speak for my brothers and sisters but to me, Yuma, you have proven yourself as trustworthy. So, I allow you to summon me when you happen to stumble across the person I am looking for. When you get close to my target, the seal will respond to its chakra signature and heat up. In order to summon me to your location you have to channel chakra into the seal, and I will appear. You do know how to channel chakra, don't you?" She finished somewhat sternly. She probably realised that she should have asked before placing the seal on me.

I had no idea how to do channel chakra, but now was a good time as any to find out and apply my manga knowledge. I knew that every human and even some plants had chakra but most of them simply aren't able to channel it for some reason. I focused on the seal in my palm and felt a warm source of energy emerging from my gut, reaching out to the small paw print. With a poof of smoke Kameyo disappeared from where she was standing in front of me and reappeared with another poof on my shoulder. We both stared at the seal in my palm. "Interesting", she mused._ 'That was way easier than I thought. Maybe I have good chakra control? Definitely something to look into at a later date.'_

"What does it feel like?" I asked curiously. I always was quite the inquisitive person and wanted to know what was going on around me.

"It is not unpleasant, if that's what you are thinking. I could sense the chakra build up when you started channeling it to the seal, so it wasn't completely unexpected. Since we never had a summoner before, this was the first time being summoned like that for me. An experience I will certainly share with the others once my mission is completed." She explained.

"How many members does your clan have anyway?"

"Including the boss, there are always nine of us. We don't age or reproduce like the other summoning clans. As a matter of fact, we don't die for the same reason. The reason itself I cannot tell you, as it is not my place involving you in our clan's secrets." She hopped down from my shoulder and started to walk away.

"So, I guess this is where we part ways?" I asked sadly. I really hoped we could have traveled together for some time. But considering she left me with this kind of seal it probably was never her intention.

She turned her head to look at me. "Yes. Trust me when I tell you that it is better when you aren't seen traveling with a fox in this part of the world. And I can continue my mission in Hi no kuni at a much faster pace on my own anyway. You wouldn't be able to keep up with me." She reasoned. I had to admit it made sense and I couldn't see a fault in her logic. "But I enjoyed our short time together and I really hope that you will be able to help me out so that we do meet again. The person I am looking for will recognise the seal on your palm. You might get some more answers from him, but considering his personality it's not very likely... You are an interesting person, Yuma, and I can feel that you will leave your mark in this world."

"One last thing, Kameyo! There are traps around here so I figured a village or town must be nearby. Can you tell me which way to go?" I got to my feet saying that and took a step after her receding form. She just pointed her paw in a random direction and the next time I blinked, she was gone.

"Thank you." I whispered to the wind.


	2. Meeting new people

I stood in the clearing for a few more minutes before heading in the direction Kameyo had pointed out. _'I just hope I will reach the town before it gets dark. It must be sometime around late afternoon now'_ I guessed. I considered myself lucky that I hadn't encountered any dangerous animals so far. I had nothing on me anymore. I used all my herbs and berries when I met Kameyo and I didn't want to stray away from the small path I had found after an hour of walking just for some more natural supplies. My furry little friend had definitely pointed in the right direction.

When the sky started to turn red, I finally reached the end of the forest. It took me an entire day of walking to get out of the woods. True, an adult would have been faster, but this still showed how vast the wildlife in the land of fire was. Between the massive tree trunks, I spotted lights and a few small houses, around three or four, maybe more since I wasn't behind the tree line yet. When I finally stepped out of the forest, I saw a few people walking around lazily and chatting with themselves. They looked like average civilians to me, but some were carrying woodcutter's axes and daggers. _'I hope this isn't a bandit camp.'_ I gulped the nervous feeling down and made my way over to the nearest person who was sitting on a log near a campfire.

"Um... excuse me, sir?" I started. "Do you know if there is a place here where I can stay for the night? I'm on my way to Konoha."

He turned his head and looked at me. Then he looked at the bottle in his hand. I recognised it as a sake bottle and it was still nearly full. He now stared at me again, squinting his eyes so that they were almost closed. "This is some strong booze Takehiro's old man provided us with this time... I already see and hear little children...", he mumbled under his breath and stared at the campfire again. "I should probably go to the bar and get myself something else. Having hallucinations after the first swig makes me feel really uncomfortable."

"I am certainly not a hallucination of yours, good sir." I deadpanned.

"Holy shit! What's a kid doing out here?!" He shouted and quickly got to his feet. One hand still holding the bottle, the other pointing at me accusingly.

"I already told you. I'm on the way to Konoha and looking for a safe place for the night."

"Yeah, I heard you. But what are you doing _here_?" He put emphasis on the word 'here', as if it was the greatest mystery of the universe.

"I don't even know where _here_ is." I replied. "Look, I just need some food and shelter and then I'll be on my way and won't bother you any longer."

"No need to be disrespectful, brat. This is just a small hunting and lumberjack camp. We're providing the nearby villages with meat, leather and wood. See the big house over there?" I turned my head the way he pointed with his sake bottle. "That's the place we all sleep, eat and relax in. The other houses are for professional uses. Go there and ask for Takehiro, he runs the place. Tell him Takeshi sent you." _'Thank god it's not a bandit camp!'_ I mentally sighed.

I bowed. "Thank you, Takeshi-san."

"Don't mention it, kid. How did you end up here by the way? The main road to Konoha is like a ten hour walk away from here..." He asked.

"My parents are merchants and we were on our way to Konoha to sell our goods when suddenly bandits attacked our small group." That was almost true. Only that in my previous life our home was the target of robbers and I ended up dead. "One of the bodyguards we hired told me to hide in the woods at the earliest opportunity. That's what I did, but after some running, I lost my sense of direction and couldn't find my way back. So, I started walking in a random direction until I reached a path which led me here. I don't know what happened to my family, but they always told me before our trips that in case of an emergency where we had to split up, I should go to our original destination and wait for them there. I don't know if they made it." I looked down at my feet and sniffed. "I'm really scared."

I felt a heavy hand on my head and looked up. "It's okay, kid." Takeshi ruffled my hair a little to cheer me up. "I'm sure they made it. Tell you what, kid, let's go to Takehiro together and get you something warm to eat and a place to sleep. In the morning we'll look for a way to get you to Konoha. We live in dangerous times nowadays. Our hidden village still deals with the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack from four yours ago and they can't handle every group of bandits out there. Your case is just the latest example for that. Maybe there is a delivery ready for the next town in some days and you can travel with them in their cart."

"Thank you again, Takeshi-san." I bowed again. "My name is Yuma, by the way."

He waved his hand. "Stop it with the formalities already. We're all the same out here and helping you is just the right thing to do."

We made our way over to the main house of the camp. When people asked about me, Takeshi simply told them to gather the rest of the men at the bar, so he didn't have to tell the story twice. I was thankful for that as I wasn't sure if I could pull this sob story again in front of a large group. Especially after Takeshi has proven himself as a really nice guy. It made me kind of sad that I had to lie to him, but I couldn't just tell him that I was probably reborn in the forest not half a day ago, could I? I also now knew that the Kyuubi attacked four years ago, so that made me two years older than Naruto. _'He must be still living in the orphanage right now.'_

In the largest room of the house Takeshi told the others about what had happened to me and why I was here. I received lots of looks with glassy eyes and some even pulled out tissues and sneezed loudly. I mentally face palmed. My attempt at a half-assed sob story really hit the nail right on the head with them. Takehiro later showed me an empty futon near the fire place and handed me a steaming bowl of stew. "I will talk with the others tomorrow morning. We might be able to finish the goods for the next delivery sooner if we give it our all and it was supposed to go to Konoha anyway." He told me with a small smile while I was eating. "Don't worry, Yuma. I'm sure your parents made it out of the ambush just fine and will be waiting for you in the village." I smiled at him and after he left, I made myself comfortable in the futon and fell asleep instantly. It really was an eventful day.

* * *

I woke up the next morning at the same time as everyone else due to the noise and made my way to the large community bathroom Takehiro had shown me yesterday evening. Takehiro was like the mother hen of this little group and as such responsible for food, drinks, clean clothes and beds and everything else the workers needed here. After washing myself and getting dressed I made my way to the food hall and ate breakfast with everybody else.

"Good morning, Yuma." Takeshi greeted me over a bowl of light vegetable soup.

"Good morning, Takeshi-san." I greeted back.

He waved his chopsticks at me and looked a little annoyed. "I already told you yesterday. Stop it with the formalities, just Takeshi is fine."

"Okay, Takeshi-nii." I smiled.

He sighed. "At least that doesn't make me feel like an old man. Might as well go with it." He slurped down his soup. "So, Takehiro has already told everybody to man up and work harder than ever so that we can get you back to your family by the end of the week. What are your plans for the time being, otouto? I think Takehiro could use an additional pair of hands in the kitchen from time to time..." he mused, rubbing his chin.

"But I wanted to help you chopping trees, nii-san." I pouted and looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Pfff... you? Chopping trees?" He laughed. "With those tiny little arms?"

"I'm just as strong as you!" I crossed my arms in front of my chest in order to prove my point. I really wanted to know if I was someone special to be reborn here and any way to test myself would be appreciated. On top of that, if I can be of help here, I might reach Konoha sooner.

"Yeah, sure." He scoffed. "You probably can't even lift an axe."

"Let's make a bet." I smirked. "If I can lift the axe, you'll let me try my hand at wood cutting. If I can't do it, I'll happily help out Takehiro in the kitchen and won't bother you about it any longer."

"Alright. It's not that I have something to lose here anyway and it will be fun seeing you struggle with the axe." He ruffled my hair again as he got up. "Let's go outside and see what you can do."

We left the food hall and made our way outside. Takeshi led us to the edge of the forest and started explaining. "We need to cut down all the trees around here that are marked with red paint." He pointed at said trees, handed me an axe and smirked. "Let's see if you are as strong as you claim to be."

His smirk left his face pretty quickly when I took the tool with one hand and had no problem swinging it around a little. "That's easier than I thought." I told him with a smile.

"Okay, little Senju-san." He now looked at me with a scrutinising gaze. "Try to hit the tree about 30 cm above its roots. It is one of the smaller ones but that doesn't count as much considering the average diameter of the trees in the Land of Fire. It would probably take me about 20 to 30 clean hits to bring this one down. Go ahead, give it a try." He encouraged me.

I turned to the tree in question, lifted the axe above my head and swung it down in a diagonal slash. While preparing myself for the swing with all my might I reached out to my chakra reserves like in the forest earlier and channeled chakra to the right muscles of my arms, shoulders, lower back and legs. _'Human anatomy studies for the win, hah!'_ I hit the tree with a loud thud.

From the point where the axe touched the bark a clean cut appeared through the whole trunk. With a sickening crunch, gravity did its thing and the tree slowly fell over. My jaw hit the floor. _'Holy shit!_'

I looked at Takeshi and had to bite back a laugh. He was standing there and gaping like a fish. "You should close your mouth, nii-san. You might catch flies." I snickered. He shut his mouth and looked at me sternly.

"How did you do this?" He asked flabbergasted.

"I don't know. Maybe I got lucky and hit a weak spot?" I responded carefully. No need to tell him that I'm able to channel chakra.

"These trees do not have 'weak spots', trust me on that." He stated and pointed at another, this time bigger tree. "Do it again."

I went over and repeated the earlier action. Except from a few splinters and tree bark flying around, nothing exceptional happened this time.

"Okay, I will just pretend the first tree never existed in the first place." He murmured. "Keep it up, otouto, you proved that you can handle it." He stated finally and ruffled my hair again. I preened under his touch and encouraging words. _'I can't remember being such an attention whore in my previous life, but I have to admit it feels really good receiving praise.'_

With renewed vigour I kept chopping. Takeshi made his way to another spot, so we didn't get in each other's way and reduce the risk of accidents. After what felt like an hour, I finally brought down my next tree. _'Hm, seems like I really got lucky with the first one.'_

Until lunch I managed to fell six of the marked trees, some with the help of luck, just like the very first. Takeshi came over and looked at my handiwork. He nodded but didn't comment it any further. "Let's go grab something to eat. In the afternoon we will come back with the oxen and pull them into the camp where we will turn them to planks."

"Alright, Takeshi-nii." I walked up to him and together we made our way back to the camp's main building. After we received our food, a rich stew again just like the one from yesterday evening, I remembered something Takeshi said earlier this morning. "Takeshi-nii, why did you call me 'Senju-san' today?"

He choked on his food at the sudden question and coughed a few times, hitting his chest. After he calmed down, he answered somewhat incredulously. "You don't know of the famous Senju clan?" I shook my head in the negative. While I did know about Tsunade and a little bit about her granddad, Hashirama, and her granduncle, Tobirama, I actually had no other knowledge about the clan. This was my chance for further information.

"Well, they were one of the most famous ninja clans in the entire Elemental Nations." Takeshi started his explanation. "They were well known for their strength and vitality and produced some of the finest ninja the world has ever seen. Hashirama Senju founded Konohagakure no sato as the first hidden ninja village together with his friend Madara Uchiha. The Uchiha later left the village for some reason and they had a fight over it. You can still see the end result of their clash at a place called the 'Valley of the end'. It's truly frightening how powerful they were, to shape the face of the world over some dispute." He shuddered at the thought and I joined in. He was right. In the Naruto manga shit hit the fan right before Madara reappeared and the fighting exaggerated to dimensional proportions. Before that it was laughable in comparison.

At this point Takehiro joined in on our conversation. "It was probably about a girl. It is always about a girl." He stated sagely, holding his chin and nodding.

"What do you mean?" I asked in a confused tone.

"Ah, you wouldn't understand, Yuma-kun. But let me give you an advice for later in your life: Never let a girl get between you and your best friend. Nothing good will come out of it, trust me on that." Takeshi and the other workers around us nodded at that piece of wisdom.

"Okay, if you say so." He ruffled my hair and smiled at me before he went back to the kitchen. _'I wonder if he speaks out of personal experience...'_

"Well, back to the Senju clan." Takeshi interrupted my musing. "Nowadays there is only one left, Tsunade Senju."

"Wait," I said. "You told me they were known for their strength and vitality. How is it that there is only one left?"

"Ah, that's because they were renown and famous for another trait. The love for their village and loved ones. Many died during the last three wars in order to protect what is precious to them and now there is only Tsunade left. She is already in her early fifties, so it is unlikely that she'll have any children. She will probably be the last one of her clan. Tsunade is known as the strongest woman in the Elemental Nations. She is also known as the best medic. There are rumours that she lost her loved ones during the last war. Apparently, she's drinking and gambling away her money nowadays, wandering aimlessly around the Land of Fire. It's kind of sad, but that's the way of life. I called you 'little Senju' earlier because of her. You handled that axe like a man already." He laughed at the end of his tale.

I smiled at him. It was a good story, unfortunately not much I didn't know before but still nice. After lunch we went over to the stables and readied the oxen. Together we pulled the massive tree trunks into the camp. Takeshi went into one of the other houses and came back with carpentry tools. He explained what I had to do, and we went to work.

The first few planks I made were all of poor quality with a few good ones in between but I got the hang of it quickly enough and managed to produce at least acceptable ones at the end of the day. I later heard from the others that Takeshi declared my first attempts as firewood. I wasn't mad at him since I wouldn't want to build a house with those planks myself. Such a building would probably collapse with the first strong breeze.

* * *

At dinner I sat together with Takeshi and some of the hunters which I hadn't seen before. They told me that the camp's hunting parties usually stayed in the forest until they had enough game for their sleds. Sometimes they are out for one night, sometimes up to a week. Takeshi explained my situation to them and asked if they had seen signs of bandits in the area. "No, we haven't." Akito, the leader of the hunting party, replied. He seemed to be around 40 years old. "Although one of our bear traps was triggered. There was some blood on the trap and a few metres leading away from it, but otherwise no sign of a prey. On a nearby tree we found scorch marks, like somebody tried to light it on fire from two sides." _'Oops, that must have been the clearing where I met Kameyo.'_ "We think that someone stepped into the trap, freed himself and treated the wound. But it could have been anybody and we can't say if it were bandits. The scorch marks are a mystery, though." He finished.

"Hmm... you didn't step into a bear trap on your way here, otouto, did you?" Takeshi asked.

"No, I didn't." I answered. "But I think I came across that clearing you mentioned, Akito-san. I saw the trap and the blood and made my way away from there quickly. I didn't want to meet a wounded animal which could have been aggressive due to the pain." I lied.

"A wise decision, kid." Akito said and nodded. "So how was your day in camp? Pretty boring with nothing to do all day, I guess?"

"Actually, it was pretty fun! I helped Takeshi-nii chopping down trees and later learned how to make planks out of them." I replied happily.

Akito looked at Takeshi accusingly. "You let a five-year-old chop down trees?"

"Hey, I'm six already!"

"That's not the point, kid. What if something had happened to you? You could have hurt yourself with the axe or the carpentry tools. You should have helped Takehiro in the kitchen if you wanted to be of help." He chided. "And what about you, Takeshi? I'm disappointed in you. I thought you of all people would show some responsibility."

"What can I say? The little Senju here has his way with words. We made a bet and I lost." Takeshi said with a sheepish smile.

"What kind of bet?" Akito asked.

"If I can lift the woodcutter's axe, he'll let me try my hand at woodcutting. Otherwise I would help in the kitchen." I told him.

"And tried his hand he did..." Takeshi whispered with his face buried in his hands but one of the other hunters obviously heard him. "What do you mean?"

"I think it's better if I show you after dinner. You won't believe me if I just tell you right now." He said and went back to his food. The others looked at him quizzically but kept their questions to themselves for the moment.

After everybody was finished eating, we went back outside and in the direction of the woodcutter's area. We reached the place of my first victim of the day and Akito was the first to speak up. "Hey, Takeshi, how did you manage such a clean cut? The last time I saw something like this was when a ninja used something called a 'wind jutsu'. Bragged about how he could cut down an entire forest in half a day..."

"It wasn't me." Takeshi deadpanned.

Akito turned to me and I returned his look with a smug grin.

"You want to tell me the kid did this?!" He exclaimed.

"Yup. First hit. Said he was lucky." He sounded depressed.

Silence.

"Well, colour me impressed. You sure pack a punch, kid." Akito finally said and chuckled. "No wonder, Takeshi calls you little Senju, haha! Let's gather everyone around the campfire, this deserves some celebration!"

With everyone gathered, the party started. Apparently Takehiro's old man supplied the camp regularly with high quality sake... which he brews illegally in his basement. Akito explained to me that since last year you actually needed a license from the government to produce any kind of alcoholic beverage. But the best stuff is mostly made by old people simply because they had the best recipes. It sounded awfully similar to what was known as moonshine in my previous life. I didn't really care that much as I was never really interested in alcohol anyway, but the story got a few good laughs from the others, some more stories about their families and how they handled the new law and a sheepish looking Takehiro since his old man insisted that he had to learn the family's secret sake recipe anyway. Screw the stupid law!

Everyone shared stories about their families and their homes. When it was my turn, I evaded the question by saying that my family was always on the move. As merchants they were always looking for the next golden opportunity and therefore, we traveled a lot. The evening was fun and full of laughter. But all good things come to an end and when the last one swayed back to the main building I was already fast asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys and girls!  
****Thank you all for the great support so far! I was happily surprised how many people out there liked the first chapter!  
****This one is a little shorter than the first and not much happened, but I felt it was the right point to make the break to the next chapter (which I might post sooner if the demand is high enough). I hope you enjoyed this one regardless and keep up with the support, it really keeps me motivated to write more :)**


	3. The roots of a dream

_The next day_

After my morning rituals I went to the food hall for breakfast. I looked for Takeshi but couldn't find him. Akito spotted me and waved me over. "If you're wondering about Takeshi, he's just received a message earlier this morning. Something about his wife going into labor. He'll be a dad before he will reach her." He chuckled. I didn't even know that Takeshi had a wife or that they were expecting a child. I should have made an effort to get to know him better. He was the first person I met in this new life and really nice to have around. Not considering Kameyo here, she's great and all but still a fox and therefore doesn't count to the same category. My thoughts were probably seen on my face by Akito. "Don't worry about it, little Senju. I know his wife and I'm sure she and the kid are fine." That wasn't what I was actually worried about, but I nodded, nonetheless. I started to eat my soup in silence.

"Hey, kid." Akito spoke up again after a while. "I won't let you join the woodcutters today without Takeshi around."

"But- "

"No 'buts', kid. It's dangerous work and I don't want to be at the receiving end of your parent's wrath when we take you to Konoha and they see you injured. We are responsible for you now and it would shed a bad light on our little camp when children come to harm here." He said with finality.

"Okay, Akito-ojisan." I grumbled and deflated in my seat.

"Hey, don't be sad. I might have something interesting for you in the afternoon. Help Takehiro in kitchen until then, I'm sure he'll appreciate it." He reasoned.

"Alright, I'll do it!" I exclaimed. No need to be a freeloader.

"That's the spirit!" Akito patted me on my back and smiled.

After breakfast I collected all the empty bowls the workers had left behind and carried them to the kitchen. Takehiro was already at the sink and preparing to wash the utensils he had used for the preparation of the soup. "Hey, Takehiro-nii, I'm here to help you out. Where should I put the empty bowls?" I asked upon entry.

"That's really nice of you, Yuma-kun. Just put them in the sink." He answered with a smile. I did as I was told and waited for further instructions. "I have already prepared the meat and the dough for today's lunch yesterday evening. We'll be making ramen today."

The only ramen I ever made was some instant version during my university years, so learning how to make it from scratch sounded interesting. But why would we start at seven in the morning? Lunch was still five hours away...

"Have you ever made ramen by yourself, Yuma-kun?" Takehiro asked while he was doing the dishes.

"Only instant ramen." I admitted sheepishly. _'Best food for students when you're low on money…'_

He laughed heartedly at that. "Then you will be in for quite the surprise today."

We started by making the broth. I put three large pots and one smaller pot on the stove and Takehiro told me to fill them all with water. He put some pork belly, herbs and spices in the water of two large pots and set them on low heat. When he explained that they had to simmer for at least three hours I almost fell from the chair he had put in front of the stove, which earned me a good laugh from him. To the last large pot, he only added salt. Meanwhile we prepared scallions and daikon cress, boiled eggs and he showed me how to make the noodles which gave the dish its name.

I had to admit I enjoyed this more than I would have thought and Takehiro was a good teacher. Seeing how everything you prepared came together in the final dish really was fulfilling. I could see now why some people referred to cooking as an art form. Time flies when you're having fun and the three hours were already over. We took the pork out of the pots and cut it into thin slices. The broth was filtered so that only a clear liquid of pure deliciousness remained. Takehiro started the stove under the two remaining pots. We would cook the noodles in small portions in the big one, to the small one we added miso paste, dried fish and soy sauce.

We distributed the prepared ingredients to the bowls and finally only had to wait for the others to turn up for lunch. The different broths would be added at last so that the noodles didn't get soggy. When one after the other everyone showed up, it got a little hectic in the kitchen but nothing Takehiro and I couldn't manage. With the last bowl served it was finally our turn. If I could I would have patted me on my back. We seriously did a good job and everybody else seemed to think the same. When I looked around and saw all the happy faces of people, I had just met not even two entire days ago, I was left a little speechless.

"That's the power of ramen." Takehiro said. He must have interpreted my wandering gaze around the room as a question.

"Huh?" Was my intelligent answer.

"The power to bring people together in a happy, relaxing and peaceful atmosphere." He further explained. "You can be a powerful politician and order people to gather around you, but they won't be happy about it. You can also throw a fancy dinner with several courses, but the atmosphere in the room will likely be somewhat stiff. In the end, the relationships between the gathered people will always suffer in one way or another. It is the simplicity of a dish like ramen that can achieve more than any political power or monetary incentive. True, it takes a lot of time to prepare but the individual steps are simple. And with time comes love. And that's what people feel when they enjoy this down-to-earth dish."

He finished his monologue and left me stunned. _'Where the hell did this philosophical nonsense come from? I am pretty sure somewhere in Konoha a blond kid is crying anime tears right now...'_

"Take this recipe, Yuma-kun, and spread the love of ramen on your travels." Takehiro handed me a folded piece of paper. "This is my family's secret ramen recipe. You may only share it with those who truly accept it for what it is. It is one way to a person's heart and soul."

After I gathered my thoughts again, I bowed to him. "Thank you, Takehiro-nii. I won't let you down, I promise."

Takehiro smiled at me serenely and went back to his own bowl of ramen. "Oh, I might have something else that could be of use for you." He reached into a drawer of the kitchen counter and took out a rolled-up scroll. "My family is actually quite famous for our cooking and pastry skills. There was once a ninja travelling through our home town that wanted to take some of our food with him on his journey, so he used something he called a storage scroll." He waved around the scroll in his hand. "Apparently food that is in such a scroll stays fresh as long as the scroll isn't damaged. Well, he left the scroll behind but nobody in my family knows how to use it so I once took it with me in the hope a ninja would pass through our camp. But since you'll be travelling to an entire ninja village, I think you should take it. There are a few bowls of ramen and cinnamon buns 'sealed' in here, whatever that means..."

I took the scroll in thanks. It was no wonder he didn't know about storage scrolls or sealing, being a civilian and all. Hell, even most shinobi didn't know how most seals work exactly, they just use them. When I thought about the content of the scroll I started smirking. _'The cinnamon buns might actually come in handy with Kameyo when I see her again. She really seemed to have a sweet tooth. And the ramen definitely with Naruto.'_

After everyone had finished lunch, Akito came up to me. "So, little Senju, are you ready for your surprise?"

I looked at Takehiro to see if he needed help with the dishes, but he was in his little dreamworld again. I turned back to Akito and stated firmly "I am, Akito-ojisan."

"Alright, let's head outside then."

Akito led us around the house until we reached a shooting range. There were several straw targets at different distances. "Okay, kid, I told you we won't do something dangerous. So, I figured I might just teach you something about archery. As long as you are not at the business end of an arrow it's fairly safe. How does that sound?"

I looked at him with stars shining in my eyes. "That's awesome, Akito-ojisan!" I always thought archers were great. And since the latest Assassin's Creed video games I knew that they could be deadly and silent. Actually, now that I thought about it, why didn't more ninja use bows? I was pretty sure with enough training you could draw arrows in rapid succession, and they could be manipulated with chakra. And a giant Fūma shuriken on your back was just as much of a handicap as a bow would be. Actually, you could just put it in a storage seal on your wrist and place another storage seal on the bow itself, so if you pull back the string an arrow would be loaded instantly. At least that's what I thought with my limited knowledge about fūinjutsu. _'This might be really worth looking into. I'd need further knowledge and training in archery and fūinjutsu. Stealth and chakra manipulation shouldn't be neglected as well. Some sensory skill would also come in handy, just to know where the target is... damn this sounds more and more like the task of a lifetime! No wonder most ninja take the easy route. But I don't want to be your run-of-the-mill shinobi! I received this second chance for a reason, and I won't waste it on mediocrity!'_

My thoughts were interrupted by the huntsman in front of me. "Alright, let me show you how it's done." Akito went into teacher mode. But first he told me about the technical details of archery. Which type of wood can be used for the bow and the arrows, the advantages and disadvantages of different materials for the bowstring and the aerodynamic abilities of different feathers from different animals, how to do maintenance for your equipment etc. I soaked up the knowledge like a sponge.

"That's amazing, Akito-sensei!" I exclaimed after his lecture. "Sensei, huh? Has a nice ring to it... tell you what, kid, if you manage to hit seven or more out of ten shots in the last round before dinner, with at least one hitting the centre, you can keep the training bow." He offered.

"Deal." I replied immediately. I so wanted to have my first bow and start on my way to greatness.

I listened closely to his explanation about how to hold the bow correctly, draw back the string, aim and finally fire. He even went into detail about breathing techniques and how to react under pressure. But his most important advice was about the mentality an archer should have. "As a hunter, and that's what an archer is in the end, you embrace the shadows. There is only you and your prey, but at the same time you always must be aware of your surroundings. You don't want to be seen, heard, smelled or sensed in any other way. So, you have to know in which direction your target is looking or moving, where the wind comes from and if there are sources for noise around you. You can't call yourself a true hunter if you step on a twig on your way to your target or kick around some loose pebbles. Your prey knows that you are there when it's dead on the ground." He finished.

I looked up to him in awe. "Just like a ninja."

"Hahaha, that's a good one, kid." He laughed and swiped fake tears from his eye.

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

"Most ninjas these days prefer flashy jutsu over stealth. They changed from stealthy assassins to glorified mercenaries. Even the name of their village leaders is nothing but a joke. They call themselves 'kage' -shadow- but in reality, they often sit in the most remarkable building of their villages. How can you pretend to be the best of the best in your village when you are out in the open most of the time, but per definition you shouldn't even exist? Hypocrites, that's what most shinobi are these days in my humble opinion."

I couldn't argue with that logic. Why didn't I realise this myself? Danzo's Root represented the way of a shinobi better than any other village system, except for the brainwashing maybe.

"But enough of the ranting of an old man." He went on. "Let's start your training."

"You're not that old Akito-sensei". I replied.

He grinned at me. "Flattery will bring you far in this world, little Senju, but not this time. Let me give you a last life lesson before we start your training for real: A good man always remembers a woman's birthday but forgets her age."

I looked at him confusedly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He just laughed and told me I would understand at one point in the future.

And with this my training began. I gave it my all the entire afternoon and avoided using chakra in any form. I wanted to turn the precise movement that Akito showed me into muscle memory and that probably won't happen with the help of chakra. Kind of like the taijutsu training of Might Gai and Rock Lee. They didn't, or in Lee's case couldn't, mold chakra, but their skill was something else entirely. Also, I wasn't sure if I was able to channel chakra precisely enough for that. I had never received any training in it and yesterday's wood cutting was brute strength with as much chakra I could manage to channel into my muscles. Archery needed way more finesse and I wasn't ready to take the risk and destroy the bow I was using by accident. In the end I achieved the goal of the day and out of my ten shots all hit the target with two in the centre. It still took me quite some time to aim, but thankfully only the result counted in the test today. I would improve the rest later.

"A job well done, kid. I have to admit; you even show a higher aptitude with archery than myself on my first day. As promised, you can keep the bow. Also keep the quiver and the arrows, no use having a bow and no ammunition." He chuckled and ruffled my hair. _'Huh, what do you know, seems like I'm a natural at this.'_

"Thank you, Akito-sensei. You're a great teacher." I bowed.

He waved his hand at my praise. "I'm just passing on what my old man taught me, and his old man taught him before that and so on. I never had children myself, so I think it's only right to give the next generation a little pointer here and there."

"Why don't you have children?" I asked.

"Let's just say I wasn't always a hunter and did some things in my younger years that I would rather forget. Come on, kid, it's almost time for dinner." With that he turned and went back around the house. I swear I could see something glistening on his face when he turned, but that was probably just my exhaustion speaking. I shrugged, gathered my new belongings and went after him.

Dinner was an overall happy affair again. The men joked and laughed, told stories about everything and nothing. They left out the 'juicy details' since with me being a kid they couldn't get into detail with some of their more adventurous experiences. I tried to humour them and asked innocently what their stories about women had to do with juice, which earned me a few laughs and many saying 'you will understand when you're older'. Takehiro informed me later that the carriage to Konoha will be ready the day after tomorrow, so I had one more day in the camp ahead of me. I excused myself after another hour and went to bed.

* * *

_The next day_

My last day in the camp was supposed to be similar to the previous day. I would help Takehiro in the kitchen until noon and in the afternoon Akito would train me again. Everything went as planned in the kitchen. Takehiro and I prepared rice balls for everyone with different stuffings, those being meat, dried fish or vegetables. He told me that there are different philosophies about a good dish. He was of the opinion that a good dish didn't need more than seven ingredients as long as they were of good quality. The different components should be able to speak for themselves which was impossible if there were too many of them. Other chefs were all about balance. So, if you add something acidic to the meal you always have to add something sweet to balance the two ingredients out. Same goes with textures. When your overall dish was soft, you should add something crunchy for a better mouth feel. I paid close attention to his lecture since it really was interesting and showed the knowledge his family had amassed about culinary art.

I offered to do the dishes this time but Takehiro just shooed me out and told me to go training. So, I went around the house again to meet up with Akito. I found him in the exact same spot as yesterday.

"So, little Senju, I told you already that as a hunter you have to become one with the shadows." I nodded. "We'll be training your stealth today. I'll place one of the targets 50 metres away from the tree line. You will hide in the forest at a clearing which I marked earlier today. From that point onwards you have to sneak up to the tree line until you're sure you'll be capable of a clean hit. And with clean hit I mean dead centre. I'll be standing right here. If I see or hear you, you'll go back to the clearing and start again. Everything clear?"

"Yes, Akito-sensei!" I exclaimed.

"Alright. Let me show you the clearing and then we'll begin today's training." He went to the forest and I quickly followed.

After we reached the aforementioned clearing, Akito told me to wait 60 seconds so that he could get back and I could prepare myself. During my wait I recalled everything I heard and read about survival and special forces during my previous life. After some thought I crouched down and smeared dirt on every visible part of skin. My light skin tone was a clear disadvantage in this test. My clothes were good enough, I supposed. The light green of my shirt and the dark blue of my pants should meld in with my surroundings just fine. My silver hair was a little distinctive, though. So, I built myself something like a crown made of twigs and leaves and put my ponytail underneath my shirt so it would not entangle with tree branches or in the bushes. With my preparations done I readied an arrow and made my way in the direction of the target in a low crouched position. I really wanted to manage a clean hit with my first shot.

I was carefully watching the path so that I wouldn't step on twigs or other things and was mindful of my surroundings. I tried to move only when the wind rustled through the leaves so that my own noises wouldn't be heard. Moving like that it took me almost half an hour until I caught sight of the target. It was even smaller than yesterday's targets. Akito really wanted to test my skills it seemed. I spotted him standing where we met earlier, arms crossed in front of his chest and paying attention to the tree line. I didn't want to get any closer and risk being spotted, so I aimed carefully and sent a silent prayer to Lady Luck. I let loose and after a few moments I heard Akito's voice.

"You can come out now, Yuma!" He shouted.

I got up and ran the rest of the way. When I emerged from the trees and approached him, Akito took a closer look at me and snickered. "You look like the princess of the forest, kid."

I blushed. I was still wearing the wooden crown and was covered in dirt. "That's not funny, Akito-sensei! I really tried my best to ace your test!"

"And ace my test you did." He stated. "Here, take a look."

We went to the wooden target and my eyes went wide. The arrow was dead centre buried in the wood, right up to its feathers. The tip even emerged out of the wooden post the target was nailed on.

"Congratulations, kid. I'm impressed by the way you handled this task. It's uncommon to see a kid this young being bright and skilled enough to think on the spot about a solution. You proved yourself worthy today. I'm proud of you." He finished and smiled at me.

I beamed under his praise. "Thank you, Akito-sensei!"

"Go wash yourself and come back in an hour. A job well done deserves a reward." He said and sent me back to the main house.

I went to the large bathroom to get rid of the dirt on my face and hands. On my way there I earned a few confused looks because of my appearance but I ignored them. I was just too happy right now to bother about it. I took my time in the bathroom and mused what Akito's reward might be. _'I hope it's some cool weapon. That would be awesome!'_

After the hour was almost up, I went back to the training field. I spotted Akito painting new targets on a few trees at the edge of the forest. I even saw a few targets deeper in the woods.

"Are we training archery again, Akito-sensei?" I asked when I was standing next to him.

He finished painting what I supposed was the last target and turned to me. "No, I have something else in mind." He said. "But first let me give you your reward."

I was bouncing on me feet in anticipation. He reached behind him and brought forward the most beautiful piece of craftsmanship I had ever seen.

"This is a weapon that was passed down from generation to generation in my family since my great grandfather." He explained. "I want you to have it."

I gaped at him. "You want to give me your family heirloom?!" I asked unbelievingly.

"Yes." He stated firmly. "I told you already that I never had kids myself and I see you as worthy enough to wield it. I never used it much myself and only kept it because it was tradition anyway. So instead of collecting dust somewhere in my room I want you to carve your future with it. I have the feeling that a merchant's life like that of your parents is not what you will experience." He chuckled at the end.

"I can't accept this." I whispered with a downcast look. I suddenly felt bad that I told them all this sob story of an excuse at our first meeting. "They weren't even my real parents." I admitted sombrely.

Akito sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I already figured as much." I looked up at him with wide eyes. "Your story made no sense from the very beginning. Unlike the others here, I know these woods like the back of my hand. There are no merchant roads except the one leading to and from this camp around here. It takes an adult almost eight days to walk through this forest from one end to the other and reach another main road, nothing a six-year-old can manage in a single day. So why don't you tell me how you really stumbled across our camp?"

_'I might as well tell him as much of the truth as possible right now, since he already figured out this much by himself. I can't tell anyone about my previous life, that's for sure.'_ I thought.

"The first thing I ever remember is waking up in a forest clearing. I don't know why I was in there in first place." I started. "I managed to survive with herbs and berries on my own for some years now. As for my clothes, I found them in an abandoned camp during one of my farther strays through the forest. A few days ago, I just couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to get out and see the world. I left behind my clearing and when I found traps, I started looking for more signs of civilisation. I found the path leading to this camp and now I'm here." _'Please buy it.'_ I mentally crossed my fingers.

His gaze softened. "Maybe you truly are of the legendary Senju clan. I can't see any other kid surviving this long on their own. And you must have a shitload of luck, haha!"

I let out the breath I was holding. That was close.

"Don't worry. I won't tell the others, but this is all the more of a reason that I give you this weapon." He said and I looked at him questioningly. "It once belonged to the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju, himself. My great grandfather... _obtained_... it when they met. That was even before the fight with Madara Uchiha."

"And with 'obtained' you mean he stole it." I deadpanned.

"No, he _obtained_ it. Like he _found_ it when the Shodai wasn't looking." He defended.

"That is per definition 'stealing'."

"No, it's not!"

"It is!"

"Do you want the damn thing or not?!" He threw his hands in the air exasperatedly.

"Yeah, I want it!" I said and took the weapon before he would change his mind.

I examined it closely.

It was a small war axe, closer to the shape of a tomahawk. Nothing you would see in the Elemental Nations on a regular basis. **(A/N: Imagine the one from the movie 'The Patriot' with Mel Gibson)** _'I wonder how the Shodai Hokage came up with the design.'_ I snorted._ 'And it's kind of ironic that the man who could create wood from nothing would use an axe as a weapon.'_ I further investigated the carvings and identified them as seals, but couldn't really tell what they were about or used for. They reached from the blade over the joint until the end of the handle. The handle itself was made from dark wood and felt warm to the touch. The blade's material was some dark metal so it wouldn't reflect the sunlight when used. I tested the sharpness and immediately cut my finger.

_'Ow. That is a really sharp little axe.'_

"What the hell are you doing?!" Akito shouted.

"I wanted to test the sharpness of the blade!" I defended myself.

Akito scoffed. "Of course, it is sharp. What did you expect from such a legendary weapon? Maybe it was a rash decision giv-"

His ranting was interrupted when suddenly the seals on the blade started glowing. In a burst of intuition, I smeared some of my blood on the handle as well. The carvings all over the weapon were now glowing in a faint red light. Finally, it seemed that the light was sucked into the tool and nothing of my blood was left.

We stood at the edge of the forest for a while longer. Akito was the first to speak. "Amazing." He said. "I never knew it could do that. It never glowed like this when it came into contact with blood before."

"Maybe it must be given willingly? Kind of like a sacrifice..." I guessed.

He nodded. My explanation was as good as any. After a few more minutes I decided it was time to clean my hand of the blood. Akito handed me his water bottle and I poured some of the clear liquid over the cut on my finger. To both our surprise there was nothing of a wound to be seen, only unblemished skin. Not even a scar. _'How is that even possible? _What_ am I?'_

"You truly are something else." He mumbled under his breath. I nodded dumbly and finally asked him what he had planned with the new targets. He explained that I should do some throwing practice with my new weapon on my own since he had to prepare the next hunting party. They would leave the camp early tomorrow morning again. I told him that I didn't know how to throw it correctly, but he just ruffled my hair and told me that I was a smart kid and should figure it out myself.

* * *

So, here I am, throwing Hashirama's axe at trees. It became frustrating pretty fast. I managed to hit the targets, that wasn't the problem, but most of the time I hit handle first, so it would simply bounce off in a random direction. I ended up needing more time to pick it up than doing actual throwing. I decided to try it one last time and then call it a day.

With everything I had I hurled the battle axe at the farthest target. "Hayaah!"

I followed the path of my new weapon with wide eyes. It cut clean through two entire trees and separated them in half. "Great, now I have to look for the damn thing." I grumbled. _'I must have channeled chakra to the weapon accidentally because I was so angry and therefore drastically improved its cutting ability. Not that far-fetched considering that the wood of the handle could be from Hashirama's wood release and therefore chakra conductive. It's the only logical conclusion.'_

Before I reached the third tree in its path where I supposed it bounced off again, I heard a noise. "Oink..." _'Sounds like a small pig. Maybe a young boar... uhh, I hope its mother isn't around. They can be really dangerous...'_

I saw my axe laying on the ground and made my way over. Right next to it was indeed a scared little pig. But not just any pig. It wore a pearl necklace and a red jacket and had a light blush on its cheeks. I only knew of one pet pig that looked like this. "Tonton?"

"Oink...?"

* * *

**A/N: Happy Easter everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Keep it up with the great support, it really makes me happy to see how many people seem to be interested in my story.**


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